The Guilty Glance
by Amy Elizabeth
Summary: Minor DH Spoilers. Teasing from the twins sends Ron questioning his partner for the Privet Drive mission in DH. The story behind why Ron sends a guilty glance towards Remus. Lighthearted fun.  RLNT


**The Guilty Glance **

**By**: Amy Elizabeth

**Disclaimer**: All things _Harry Potter_ are sole property of J.K. Rowling. No infringement or financial gain is intended.

**A/N**: I meant this as a drabble, but somehow it ended up taking all of this to get it out. I also realize that the partners were assigned at the house, but I'll take a little artistic license and go with the assumption that Mad-Eye simply repeated himself. Writing the kids was interesting, so we'll see how that went. Please enjoy and thanks for reading!

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Ron fidgeted in his seat as Mad-Eye's gravelly voice continued to dole out partners for the "spring Harry out of Privet Drive" plan that was to take place in a few days. Almost all of them had been partnered up; Lupin and George, Moody with Mundungus, Bill with Fleur…

_Of course. _Ron had a feeling Harry wasn't going to like seeing Bill with his fiancée when it was Harry's own face she would be wearing.

And now Fred and Dad. Hagrid was taking the _actual _Harry, and while Ron wasn't completely sure that was a brilliant idea, he did suppose that Hagrid would do anything to keep Harry safe. And that left only two adults…

He tugged on the loose thread of his sleeve, ignoring his mother's disapproving glare. While it was really quite exciting to finally be let in on an Order meeting and mission Ron couldn't sit still. He tried to tell himself that it was because he was excited, and honestly more than a little nervous, about the plan. However, as the guard list got shorter and shorter a knot began to form in his stomach.

"The other thestral will be you, Kingsley, " Ron held his breath. _Please, please let me be with Kingsley and Hermione with..._ "and you, Miss Granger." Mad-Eye swiveled on his chair to face Tonks, "Tonks, you'll be taking…

"Ron!" She gave a wave across the table him as he tried to return her grin, "I assume we're on broom, Mad-Eye?"

_It wasn't that he didn't _like _her. He did…it was just that she…_

She suddenly dropped her mug; which was quickly cleaned up by a subtle flick of her husband's wand.

_She was so…Tonks. _

Though seemingly disgruntled by her interruption; Mad-Eye mumbled his assent before returning his attention to the group gathered around the Burrow's table, "All right, then, we all know where the port-keys will be located and the order in which they will return. If one is missed, for any reason, you are to return here by any means of transportation available to you. If any of us die in the attempt, you will not…"

"It is dinner time." Molly Weasley was on her feet. Already tense from the very idea of the mission, despite it's necessity, she had been looking for a reason to end the meeting for a long time, "_Now_, Mad-Eye." She cut across his rebuke, "The children have heard enough for one evening." With that she summoned dinner and the group settled into more comfortable conversation about the impending birthday and wedding celebrations that were to take place at the Burrow in the coming weeks.

At the other end of the table, Ron could only pick at his turkey and watch, jealously, as Ginny, the twins, Hermione, and further down the table, the adults, dug into their dinners.

"Paired with Tonks," George grinned at Ron, "lucky you."

"Yea, I wouldn't mind to have her instead of Dad for a broom partner." Fred winked helping himself to more potatoes.

"Honestly, you two. She's _married._"

Fred thumped Hermione against her shoulder, causing her to drop her fork of turkey, "Relax, Hermione, we know."

"But it doesn't hurt to look. Right, Ron?" George looked down the table to where Tonks was sitting with Remus, teasing him about something they couldn't hear, "She is an attractive witch."

Unsure of what to say, Ron settled with a non-committal grunt, "I suppose she is, if you don't mind her hair." He rolled his eyes at Hermione and Ginny's disgruntled looks, "Bloody hell, you two, its not like I said I was going to make a move on her."

"I suggest you don't mate." George and Fred exchanged suddenly serious glances with each other.

"I mean, looking is one thing but… Werewolves can be extremely territorial." Fred glanced down the table again at Lupin, who had placed an arm around his wife's shoulder, "I wouldn't cross him over her."

"Yea. I heard about this bloke at the ministry who tried to ask her out the other day. You should have seen his reaction. Positively violent."

Ron missed the winks the twins sent to each other as he stared down the table at his new partner.

"I'd stop staring at her, little brother."

Ron jumped and blushed, "I wasn't _staring…_" he mumbled

"Now that I think about it, you'll have to hold on to her pretty tight on that broom." Fred's face shifted into a thoughtful frown, "Hands around her waist, pressed up against her. And, since you find her so attractive, it might be enough to awaken some of those jealous tendencies. I mean, I know he's normally so patient and all, but things are different when it comes to her…you know, those wolfish tendencies he told us about after Bill was attacked…" Fred let his sentence trail off meaningfully.

"I do not find her attractive!" Ron blushed deeper, "I mean, not like _that._"

"I'm just repeating what you said, mate. Just be careful about what you say around _him_ between now and the mission."

Ron, flustered, looked back and forth between the twins, trying to find the signs that they were pulling his leg again. He grew increasingly uncomfortable when he couldn't.

"You two are idiots." Ginny had been uncommonly quiet after the meeting. Mrs. Weasley had tried to keep her upstairs before dinner but, since she would be in the house with Mrs. Weasley during the entire mission, it seemed better that she be in on it from the start. "And you, Ron, are an idiot if you listen to a word they say."

He looked at his sister, " I mean, I know, but…"

"You all will be doing the dishes tonight," the firm voice of his mother behind him cut through his rebuttal, "We are going into the sitting room to continue the meeting. You are _not _to interrupt. No, not even you two." She pointed a finger at Fred and George.

"Mum, that's ridiculous. We're of age and out of school…"

"The boys should come, Molly. We'll be needing all the input we can get." Kingsley Shacklebolt came up behind her and placed a calming hand on the shorter woman's shoulder. "Its not like we can keep them out forever."

It was clear to everyone in the room she was deeply displeased by this assertion but none-the-less nodded that the twins could join the adults who were filing out into the sitting room.

"We have input…" Ginny was cut off by a firm and rather loud 'No' from her mother as the door shut, "Fine. We'll just sit in here like it's not our futures too."

"Ginny, you know they're just trying to protect us." Hermione patted the younger girl's hand before levitating their plates towards the sink.

She shot a sullen glance towards the door, "It doesn't make it much easier." They all began scrubbing and continued on in relative silence, occasionally broken by a grumble from Ron or an exasperated huff from Hermione as Ron dropped another plate, for almost a half-hour.

"And your Mom complains about Tonks being clumsy." She quickly cast as _Reparo _charm over the last of the broken plates on the floor before levitating them to their shelves.

Ron shuttered a little at the mention of the Auror, "You don't really think Fred and George were serious." He swallowed, "Do you?"

"No!" Hermione finished drying out the sink, "Honestly, Ronald, how old are you? Do you really believe that Professor Lupin would be jealous that you…"

"That he what?" All three of them spun around as they heard the measured voice of their former professor, "Didn't mean to startle you." He winked at their chagrinned faces.

"Nothing!" Ron knew he was turning bright red, "We were just cleaning up and talking about…" he had never been good at making up stories and it didn't seem he was getting any better at it.

"My being jealous?" There was a distinctly amused note in Lupin's voice as he went to grab his and his wife's cloaks, "What would I be jealous of? Cleaning duty? I'm afraid I would have to disappoint you on that one. I do enough of it cleaning up after my wife." He sent them a grin over his shoulder as he pulled on his cloak.

"Actually, Professor," Ron turned, startled as his sister spoke up, it was never good when she started in with that, "Ron was just discussing a _rumor _he heard about," she paused, obviously a little uncomfortable now that Lupin was actually in the room, "how _territorial _a werewolf might be over…certain things." She gestured to Hermione, "We were just telling him how ridiculous that was."

A smile played at the corners of Lupin's mouth, "Ah, I see."

"I didn't _believe _it." Ron muttered, shooting a glare at his sister.

"What might these _certain things _be?" He smiled again at their awkward glances at one another, "I can assure you I don't mark my territory around my house or things…" Suddenly the door from the sitting room flew open,

"Sorry, Remus, Mad-Eye got into another lecture about," Tonks glanced at the kids, "well, it was about what its always about." She grinned at him as she accepted her cloak from his out-stretched hand, "Thank you."

Ron had just begun to thank Merlin for the abrupt end to their conversation when Lupin turned back to them at the sink with a mischievous glint in his eye, "Though, when it comes to my wife here, I can be extremely protective." He accented his last words by pulling his wife by her waist to his side, smiling in turn at the kids and her. Her eyebrows shot up at the unexpected gesture but she was obviously pleased with the attention. Ron was sure he would have been embarrassed by their coy grins at one another if it hadn't been for the sinking sensation in his stomach.

_Bloody hell, its not like he has any reason to be jealous… I mean, its not like I like her like _that_...and its not like I'm _afraid _of Professor Lupin…_ He let out an involuntary shudder as he remembered back to his third year when he, Harry, and Hermione had witnessed his transformation. Ron suddenly decided he would be careful about what he said around his former professor, just in case.

"We'll be heading off now; Tonks has an early morning. Goodnight Hermione, Ron, Ginny." Remus smiled warmly at each of them as he opened the door.

"'Night, kids." Tonks grinned at them before stepping out of the door her husband held open for her before popping her head back in, "I'm looking forward to our mission together, Ron."

_Bloody hell. _

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"Hold tight now, Ron" His wife's voice carried to where Remus was mounting his broom with George. Out of his peripheral vision Remus caught the guilty look Ron Weasley sent his way as he placed his hands on her waist. He sent a small grin at his wife as she winked in return.

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Line from pg. 54 (US version) _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. _


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